REACH NC selected as top university-based economic development initiative

Published: October 30, 2013

The University Economic Development Association (UEDA) announced its 2013 Awards of Excellence winners during its Annual Summit held Oct. 29 in Pittsburgh. The awards recognize UEDA members who are transforming their campuses into engines of economic prosperity through initiatives in five categories: 1) community connected campus; 2) research and analysis; 3) leadership and collaboration; 4) innovation and entrepreneurship; and 5) talent development.

The RENCI collaboration REACH NC (Research, Engagement and Capabilities Hub of North Carolina) received the award in the leadership and collaboration category. REACH NC is a publicly accessible and searchable Web-based portal that uses advanced technologies to enable quicker and easier location of faculty experts within North Carolina. The portal also allows users to search for laboratories, equipment, and other assets from a broad range of disciplines including social science, education, and business. REACH NC now contains over 8,900 expert profiles representing the 19 North Carolina higher education and research institutions. The project was launched with support from the UNC-Chapel Hill Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute and UNC General Administration. RENCI.

About UEDA

Established in 1976, the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) is the cornerstone membership organization representing higher education, private sector and community economic development stakeholders. UEDA works to expand economic opportunity in our communities by leveraging research, community resources, campus planning, talent development, and technology commercialization. UEDA’s mission is to serve its members by enhancing members’ abilities to deliver economic development benefits through engagement with higher education.

About RENCI

RENCI (Renaissance Computing Institute) develops and deploys advanced technologies to enable research discoveries and practical innovations. RENCI partners with researchers, government, and industry to engage and solve the problems that affect North Carolina, our nation, and the world. An institute of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, RENCI was launched in 2004 as a collaboration involving UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University.